Summer Camp for One, Please

I am hardly one to drool over the bigger horses. As an adult beginner, I think I love the control I feel (misguided or not) of being on the ponies. But there's nothing like a successful lesson on a big horse to make you question your priorities.

I've had 2 weeks off (summer weekend social life is not conducive to getting to the barn), but I got a 45-minute private lesson thanks to all the kiddies being tuckered out from Camp week. (I'm not jealous of camp week. I'm 30, why would I be jealous? Spending a day painting horses, playing tag on horses? I'm too old for that stuff. Ugh. Dammit.)

I rode the thoroughbred quarter horse mix that I hadn't in a while. He belongs to someone in the program that only rides him about once a week. They have a nice deal going where he gets worked, she gets a discount off board, and the program gets a solid almost-schoolmaster. Not sure where over 16hh he is but he's up there. It'd been a while since I'd been that high up, but I only noticed when I was getting on (and off, like when forgetting there's an extra step and you kind of go, "Whoomph."). He's been hard at work for camp and, as my instructor was explaining, the horses are at their best when they're working most days of the week. Especially the thoroughbred types.

I would say Tony's thing is he gets a little strong once you start jumping and cantering him. He actually likes a pulley rein, which just seems wrong to me, but okay, I'll do what I have to to get back down to a walk. He will also choose not to jump if he thinks you're nervous, but I am proud to say that happened once and then I got in the mindset of "we're going over this jump and I'm already thinking of what happens next" and we progressed pretty quickly. In that 45 minutes we accomplished:

- Sitting up a little straighter at the trot to get that dressage look (and, more practically, learn not to lean forward on a very forward horse)
- Getting straighter to the jump (ok, still working on this)
- Half-halting/ right rein&right leg to keep him from drifting away
- Staying off his back upon landing (so he doesn't hit the rail with his back legs
- Being straighter after the jump so he doesn't take a hard turn
- Cantering without leaning forward (amazing how you have to teach me the same lesson at the trot and at the canter, but I'm kind of a dunce like that)

The jump was only 2ft, (we use cavaletti blocks that are 24”L x 15”W x 9”D) but she did build it up to look like an oxer to try to make it look scary.  I feel pretty ready to try 2'9" again soon!

No lesson this coming weekend, but I've set up a lesson closer to home for next week with an instructor who has Icelandic horses and teaches centered riding. I'm pretty excited to find something I can get to during the week. More to come on that. I will try to remember taking pictures. This blog is so dull without them!

Horse flies are no joke

Horse flies: Not a play on words, apparently.

The horse I was on was getting eaten alive if we stood still for even a second. He actually had blood on his legs from the previous lesson where they were standing still for too long. I was worried he'd lose patience with what we were putting him through.

This was the same horse I rode last time. He also dumped me a couple years back when we were both much greener and he abruptly stepped out of the ring and into the woods. It's nice to be on nicer terms now.

We are working on half halts and it's just amazing how being aware of half halts has opened things up to new complexities. Like, right in front of the jump, he will drift right if I don't use a strong leg and a half halt (both on right side). If I use more than a half halt (pull and hold) his neck has no room for the jump and he will refuse.

He requires only the occasional squeeze (I counted every eight steps of the trot) to keep going, so I'm trying to use leg less, so he stays responsive to it. And trying not to pull on his mouth. Sometimes he gets stuck following after his friends when I want him to go a different way, so I have to pull the rein to my belly button to turn his nose and kick with the outside leg.

We did a jump to a bounce, and then the reverse. I did okay, but something about the bounce to the jump was messing me up a bit. I didn't have time to reorganize after the bounce to do the strong leg-half halt mentioned to keep him from drifting. So staying organized after jumps will be my big challenge if I hope to put a course together - those three jumps in a row were just at 2 feet. Sigh.

Personal record in time at barn

This was  my first time spending 4 hours at a barn. I realize most people who are into barn life practically live there and may find that rather sad. It was an unusual circumstance where my instructor had to exercise the horses during the week and there were only a couple other people around. I got to help out with watering and bathing the horses (it was 90+ degrees). I also got a lesson and watched her train a couple different horses, explaining how she's bringing up a young pony who is "really mean right now" and currently dumping people.

My lesson started with dressage working on a trot on the bit. There was bending and counterbending and half halts and then hooooolding the balance once his head drops. I've seen other people get their horse's head down by separating their hands, but this was all done with hands together (which I guess is what you'd want to do in a dressage test with a tough judge). It was really cool and felt great in those moment where I got it.

We then went outside to jump a little bit. They were 2, maybe 2' 6" jumps that felt really easy to go over on this horse. It was nice to string a couple jumps together and still feel organized.

By the time I could have taken a practice ride I was pretty done from the heat and walked next door to the golf course where my husband was finishing up and ordering us a pizza :) Georgetown is a pretty great place to ride and play golf and eat pizza, all on the same block. Something for the whole family ;)

Go right! Go right!

Have you ever gotten over the last jump in a line, felt really good about it (to the point of distraction) and felt that sudden lurch of your pony deciding she wants to take a sharp left to join her friends? It's amazing how focused on the jumps I can be, but when I focus on doing everything before and after the jump perfectly, the jump is really just a free moment to focus on the next thing.

We did 3 jumps (built up to 2 feet) with broken lines and it really made sense to go right at the end. Of course the horses lined up on the left side led my pony to want to take a sharp left to rejoin. It mostly required looking where I wanted to go and not taking no for an answer.

I also got one refusal on what was basically just a filled in 2 foot jump (so it just looks a little scary to the rider) because the pony drifted left quite stealthily. Again that was about willpower more than anything - and looking in the right spot. The body does the right things when your willpower is strong enough!

Do you ever learn something new just at the end of a lesson that feels you're unlocking some sort of door? But, of course, the lesson is over, so you don't get the satisfaction of fully understanding what door you even opened? I was approaching that scary, drifty-friendly jump and was told to "wait, wait, wait..." and then had this most beautiful jump. Like I was cruising in a Ferrari down an empty highway. Like I was 6 years old on the big-kids swing set.

Anyways.

So I was able to control the takeoff spot. I didn't know I could do that.  I waited to give a good squeeze at the spot I wanted. That's different from what I read (but of course it is. You're supposed to read, but don't actually learn anything until you do it. And even then, every horse is different). But it worked (for this pony). I can't wait to try it again to make sure it wasn't just a fluke or beginner's luck.

I stood up for you

Tired of leaning forward over jumps, I decided this lesson was not going to be the lesson where the bad habit continues. What follows is how I broke the habit in just one lesson:

1. Ride the easy pony: I picked the "jumps anything" show pony so I wouldn't have to overthink steering. She likes a loose rein and listens to your leg and will just jump. Simple.
2. Plan to stand in my stirrups. Oh I know, it must seem like a bad thing. But I thought to myself, if I'm not going forward, I'll just plan to go up. Up off the saddle like my head is a helium balloon. Here's a video of me doing a broken line and trying that out for a change:


I don't really know what's going on with the canter. I'm sure it has something to do with the broken line and me confusing her by pushing her over in a less-than-stellar way.

Also I think I sit down too early? But the jumps are so small, I feel like it's okay that I'm working on one thing at a time. I'm calling this a success.  So:

3. Have it feel correct so your body will want to do it again. Smoothest jumps yet. The jumps are, what, 18"? If I'm more excited about that than the 2'6" jumps I've been a mess over, well, I guess that says something about where the actual work gets done.

Using my counter-intuition

I rode in a outdoor that, I'll be honest with you, I didn't know we could use for lessons. It was huge! When we were working on jumping I loved the feeling of cantering away for a good few seconds. Normally in the indoor you have to slow down sooner to not be in the next jumper's way. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Ok, that being said, I royally sucked at riding yesterday. I'm going through serious growing pains in two directions:
1. Learning to ride horses that respond very differently to rein pressure
2. Learning to jump properly without overthinking it

They're both related.
The horse I rode yesterday was initially Western-broke. Before my instructor told me that, I noticed she was more responsive on a loose rein. She would actively fight me if I gathered up the reins and tried to pull her at all in one direction or another.

And she'd refuse the jump if I didn't have almost a full loop in the reins. Usually my release happens when they're already jumping. This is probably wrong. It's definitely wrong for her. Can't blame her. She probably feels all compressed and uncomfortable. But it's counter-intuitive when you're worried she's going to run out, to just rely on your legs! We had a bounce to a two stride, and we'd usually duck out before that last jump. Could not put the whole thing together by keeping the reins loose and using a good driving seat. Also kept collapsing and it's totally noticeable when the horse refuses because suddenly your hands are on her neck for balance! Busted!!

My brain says yes, my body says no. Just counter-intuitive stuff that I'm sure other adult beginners feel.

Hold me closer tiny jumper

I had to squeeze into a rather full lesson this weekend, after not riding for about 3 weeks. The only horse left has only been ridden a couple times recently. He's known for rushing jumps. I guess at his old barn he was rushed at them constantly and no amount of un-training will get it out of him now. Maybe that's not true. Maybe it is. I am not a trainer.

So in this awkward video below, you can't see that my instructor is walking us to the jump, holding him back until the last moment. We talked a lot about when I should hold him back, and when I should let him go, because holding him back too long means he (rightfully) refuses the jump. Something I have to feel to know the right moment. You can tell from the way my back is arching (that looks really bad btw - that can't be right!) that I'm holding him back between these tiny jumps.

 

This video is in only available in slo-mo because that's what the 11 year old who filmed it deemed most useful to her audience.

 

It was an interesting lesson. Another girl in my group was jumping 3' on the greener horse I rode last time. It's amazing how you can have people of so many different levels get a lot out of a group lesson.

I can't tell you how often it is on my mind that I need to ride more during the week (or even during the month) to improve so I'm not working on basics over tiny jumps